Members of a suspected local criminal gang stormed Thursday morning a public elementary school in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur and held hostage some 75 people inside, mostly school children and teachers.

Police later reported that 18 of the hostages were released.

Chief Superintendent Lino Calingasan, director of the CARAGA Regional Police, said the 25 hostage-takers are members of an organized group operating in the province and nearby areas and are former members of the Army’s Civilian Armed Forces Geographical Unit (CAFGU).

Quoting reports from the field, Calingasan said the incident started as a report on a group of armed men engaging in indiscriminate firing in Barangay La Purisima, Prosperidad town at around 8 a.m. Thursday.

Calingasan said that when police and military operatives responded, the gunmen immediately proceeded to the nearby Sitio Maitum in Barangay San Martin and held hostage the pupils and teachers and other civilians inside the Maitum Elementary School.

“The hostage-taking is still ongoing. Negotiations are ongoing but there are still no demands from them,” said Calingasan in a phone interview at around 3 p.m. Thursday.

In a background check, Calingasan said the gunmen are members of an organized criminal gang, Perez Group, led by a certain Ondo Perez, who is reportedly a former CAFGU member.

The group, he said, was responsible for the series of criminal activities in the province and nearby areas.

Right now, Calingasan said members of the local police and the elite Special Action Force (SAF) are now in the hostage-taking site to ensure the safe release of the victims.